Chicory (Cichorium intybus) is a common plant found globally, easily recognizable by its striking blue flowers that often bloom along roadsides and in fields. The question of its life cycle—whether it is a perennial, biennial, or even an annual—is a source of frequent confusion, as its classification seems to shift depending on who is growing it and for what purpose. Resolving this debate requires understanding the plant’s inherent biological programming and how human cultivation practices interfere with it. Chicory possesses a flexible life cycle that can be short-lived or extended by environmental conditions and harvesting methods.
The Botanical Classification of Chicory
Botanically, Cichorium intybus is classified as a short-lived perennial herb, though it most commonly expresses a biennial life cycle in cultivation. Chicory naturally follows a two-season pattern to reproduce. The first year is dedicated entirely to vegetative growth, forming a dense basal rosette of leaves and developing a deep taproot for carbohydrate storage.
This stored energy is used to survive the winter, which provides the necessary cold period—known as vernalization—required to trigger flowering. Chicory requires this vernalization period, often at temperatures between 2 and 4 degrees Celsius. In the second growing season, the plant uses its stored root energy to rapidly grow a tall, branched flowering stem, a process called bolting.
After flowering, setting seed, and dispersing the next generation, the plant typically dies. However, in the wild or under ideal, mild conditions, the plant’s root crown may survive for three or more years, continuing to produce foliage and occasionally flowering. This inherent longevity, coupled with its biennial flowering cycle, leads to the ambiguity in its classification.
How Commercial Use Affects Life Cycle Treatment
Commercial agriculture rarely allows chicory to complete its natural life cycle, treating it instead as an annual or a managed perennial, depending on the desired product. For root chicory, grown for the production of inulin or as a coffee substitute, the plant is cultivated as an annual crop. Farmers harvest the massive taproot before the first heavy frost to maximize carbohydrate accumulation, which is highest just before the vernalization period begins.
Leaf chicory, including varieties like radicchio and Belgian endive (witloof), also sees its life cycle truncated. Radicchio is often harvested for its leaves in the first year. Belgian endive is produced by harvesting the Year 1 root and then forcing it to sprout new, blanched leaves (chicons) in a dark, temperature-controlled environment in Year 2, completely bypassing the plant’s natural flowering phase.
Forage chicory, grown for livestock grazing, is the one type of cultivation where the plant is managed as a perennial. Grazing management is specifically designed to prevent bolting, as the flowering stem becomes tough and less nutritious. By regularly mowing or grazing the leaves, farmers keep the plant in its vegetative state, encouraging the crown to survive and produce high-quality foliage for up to four years.
Observing Chicory’s Growth Across Seasons
For the home gardener, the stages of chicory’s growth provide clear evidence of its biennial tendency. In the first year, the plant appears as a low-growing, dandelion-like rosette of leaves, remaining in this compact, vegetative form throughout the first fall and winter.
The transition to the second year is marked by the dramatic vertical growth known as bolting, typically occurring in late spring or early summer. This growth produces a tough, woody stalk that can reach up to six feet tall, bearing the characteristic blue flowers.
If the plant is not harvested and the flowering stem is cut back before it sets seed, the deep taproot and crown may survive and regrow a new rosette of leaves. This ability to regenerate is the perennial characteristic, allowing the plant to persist beyond the two-year cycle, especially in well-drained soil.